Motor gear-drive for planers.



W.'C. FARNUM.

MOTOR GEAR DRIVE FOR PLANERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, I914.

1-;M@,,334o Patented May18, 1915.

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W. C. FARNUM.

MOTOR GEAR DRIVE FOR PLANERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1914.

1 140 8340 Patented May18,1915.

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TTNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

WILLIAM C. FARNUM, 0E WINCHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TOWILLIAM 1V1. WHITNEY, OF WINCHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MOTOR GEAR-DRIVE FOR PLANERS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1915.

Application filed. May 5, 1914. Serial No. 836,430.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM C. FARNUM, acitizen of the United States, residing at Ninchendon, county oflVorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inMotor Gear-Drives for Planers, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to gear drivingmechanism for planers, and more particularly, though not exclusively, tosuch mechanism actuated directly from an electric or other motor.

As well understood by those skilled in the art, one of the most commonobjections incident to the transmission of power from a motor to thepart to be driven, as, for instance, the cutter cylinder of a planingmachine, is the excessive wear upon the bearings, particularly of themotor shaft. This wear increases rapidly in proportion to the powertransmitted, and has been the cause of constant objection in suchmachines. With these general facts in mind, the aims and purposes of thepresent invention are to provide a motor gear drive for planers and thelike which, while simple in construction, shall efiectively overcome theobjections incident to such devices and provide a counterbalancingeffect to the side thrust transmitted to the motor or like shaft,-all ofwhich will best be made clear from the following description andaccompanying drawings of one form of means for carrying-the inventioninto practical effect, it being understood, of course, that details maybe varied within the true scope of the actual invention as pointed outby the claims.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of sufficient parts of aplaning machine having the present invention associated therewith tomake clear the construction and operation thereof; Fig. 2 is a sectionaldetail showing the motor shaft, the floating casing, and the gearingconnection between the motor shaft and spindle shaft; and Fig. 3 is anenlarged sectional view of the motor gear driving mechanism,substantially on the line 3-3, Fig. 2, the parts being shown in detail.

Referring to Fig. 1, the frame of the machine carrying the part to bedriven may be of any usual or preferred construction, and,

as shown, comprises the main portion 1 provided with suitable bearingsfor the shaft 2 which may be any shaft which is to be driven andconsequently may herein be identifled as the driven shaft, but as shownthe said shaft 2 is typified as the shaft of a cutter cylinder 3 havingknives 4. The cutter cylinder may be of any character and is heretypified as of the form usually employed in wood planing machines.Extending from the main frame 1 is the auxiliary frame 5 having suitableprovisions for supporting the motor from which the driven shafts orcutter cylinder is to be driven, as will presently appear. Thisauxiliary frame may obviously be changed to suit conditions of use, butas shown it is provided as a support for both the motor and motor geardriving mechanism.

As a convenient means for sustaining the motor 7 from the frame, abracket 6 is employed to which the motor 7 may be secured by appropriatemeans, such as the bolts 8. In the present form of the invention, themotor is provided as an electric type, and such form of motor has beenfound in practice to be well suited for driving the cutter cylinder of aplaning machine through the means presently to be described.

Extending from the motor 7 is the motor shaft 9, said shaft having theusual bearings within the motor casing. Secured to rotate with the motorshaft 9 is the gear 10 which may be conveniently splined to the shaft asshown at 11, Figs. 2 and 3.

Loosely mounted upon the motor shaft 9, preferably at each side of thegear 10, is a bushing 12 which affords a convenient means forassociating with the motor shaft 9 the floating casing 13, Fig. 2. Thefloating casing 13 has the bearing portions 1 1, Fig. 3, which surroundthe bushings 12, said bearing portions 14 being preferably, though notnecessarily, made separate from the remainder of the casing 13, andsecured to the casing 13 in any suitable manner. Obviously, the bearingportions 14 might be otherwise formed, or instead of using two suchbearing portions, only one might serve to associate the floating casing18 with the motor shaft 9.

The floating casing 13, as will be noted from FigsQ and 3, rises uponthe motor shaft 9, and is provided with portions 15 for theaccommodation ofsuitable bearings 16 for the shaft 17, as will beevident .from Fig. 3. The bearings 16 may be of any appropriatetype'suitable to properly support the shaft 17, and in practice it isfound convenient and as a medium for reducing :friction to employsuitable ball or other anti portion of the floating casing by screwrings 18, and suitable nuts 19 serve to maintain the shaft 17 initsproper bearing relation with the bearing '16.

Mounted upon the shaft 17 is a gear 21 adapted to mesh with the gear 10on the motor shaft 9, as will be evident from Figs. 2 and 3. The gear 21may be appropriately connected to the shaft 17, as by a key or spline22, and properly positioned thereon by means of appropriate sleeves 20,Fig. 3, interposed between the side faces of the gear and bearings 16.These detailed features of construction are not essentials of thepresent invention, and may be varied within the skill of the ordinarymechanic. In use it is found'convenient to form the gear 21 of fiber andsteel combined, thereby producing a noiseless and more durableconstruction, but obviously this is not a material feature of thepresent invention.

The shaft 17 extends at one end beyond the floating casing 13, asindicated in Figs land 3, and is provided with one member 23 of aclutch, the other member 24 thereof being appropriately secured to thecutter shaft 2. This clutch is preferably of the Oldham type, well knownby those skilled in theart. Briefly, it comprises the grooved- V disks23 and 24 and the connecting portion 25, the construction being suchthat the cutter shaft 2 may be driven directly from the shaft 17, eventhough the two shafts be- .somewhat out of alinement. From theconstructionthus far described,

it will be apparentjthat the floating casing 13, while mounted upon themotor-'shaft'9 through the interposition of thebushings V 12;"providesatone portion thereof, the

upper portion as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3,

suitable bearings for the shaft 17, which, for convenience ofidentification, will be hereafter referred-to as the spindle shaft. Thisfloating casing may be variously constructed,

' but in the illustrated form of the invention,

it comprises a surrounding or inclosing case for the gears 10 and 21,while at the same time providing the bearings for the spindle shaft 17.In order that the casing may be readily applied and removed, it may beformed of two parts, as indicatedin Figs.

2 and 3, that is, the casing may be formed of two halves, and thesehalves secured together by appropriate means such as the bolts 26passing through the flanged portions 27, as will be readily understoodIt is desirable that the weight of the floating casing 13 and itsassociated partscar ried' by it, shall not rest upon the motor shaft 9,and to this end the floating casing rious forms of counterbalancingmeans may be employed, as Wlll be obvious, but a con- 13 may be suitablycounterbalanced.

venient form of such means isindicated in Fig. 3, wherein the lowerportion of the casing 13 has extending downward therefroma lug 28havinga shoulder 29 against which one end of a spring 30 is seated, theother end of the spring 30 resting on a washer 31 properly secured tothe projection 28'as by an adjustingscrew 32. The

washer or disk 31 rests on a suitable support,

'tionary part of the machine or otherwise,

and the pin 36 may be appropriately passed through an opening in saidframe 38,, as indicated in Fig. 3, and held in position byappropriatenuts 39. By loosening the nuts 39 and turning the'e ccentric37 it will be evident that the position of the floating casing 13 maybeadjusted about the axis ofthe 'motor shaft 9, the construction, beingsuch that should the spindle shaft17 and cutter cylinder shaft 2 be notin alinement, the eccentric 37 or other suitable adjusting means may beappropriately manipulated to bring such'shaftjs into the desiredalinement or approximately so. 7 v 7 From the construction described, itwill be noted that the floating casing 13 is mounted so that if free toturn it would revolve about the axis of the motor shaft 9 {and it willalso be noted that said casing serves to support the bearings of thespindle shaft which the pin 36, thereby reducing the side thrust andwearing; objection heretofore present.

7 Obviously, the counterbalancing effect produced by the describedconstruction will depend upon the leverage between the axis of the shaft9, the pitch line between the gears 10 and 21, and the axis of the pinor stop 36. The bearing pressure or side thrust upon the motor shaftbeing thus relieved or materially reduced, the friction incident theretois likewise lessened, and the wearing of parts decreased.

The casing 13 and its mounting in relation to the motor shaft may bevaried, of course, said casing acting as a spindle shaft supportingmember floating upon or about the motor shaft and limited in suchfloating movement by the pin or stop 36.

In order that the motor shaft 9 may be properly lubricated, the bearingportions 14 are provided with an oil chamber 40, Fig. 3, and thebushings 12 are cut away as at 4:1 to afford a proper seat for a looselubricating ring 12, the construction being such that as the shaft 9rotates the ring 42 will travel through the lubricator liquid and carryportions thereof to the surface of the motor shaft.

In order that the teeth of the intermeshing gears shall be properlylubricated, the present invention contemplates forming the gear 10 withthe radial duct or oil passage 43, Fig. 3, extending from a recessed hubportion I4 toward the periphery of the gear, where it communicates withthe teeth by means of the passage 45. Only a small portion of lubricantwill be desired to be trans mitted to the teeth of the gear 10, and tothis end the bushing 12 has a groove 46 extending toward the hub of thegear 10 where it terminates in a radial passageway 47 leading into therecessed hub portion 4 1, the construction being such that the lubricantwill be taken from the surface of the motor shaft 9 and find its way tothe recessed hub portion of the gear 10, whereupon under centrifugalaction, the lubricant will be transmitted to the teeth of the gear.

What is claimed is 1. In a motor gear driving mechanism, the combinationof a motor shaft, a motor shaft gear mounted to rotate therewith, afloating casing associated with said shaft, a spindle shaft mounted onsaid casing at one side of the motor shaft and carrying a gear meshingwith said motor shaft gear, a driven shaft, means for connecting thespindle shaft and driven shaft end to end, and means to prevent rotationof the casing about the motor shaft.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a motorshaft, a motor shaft gear mounted to rotate there with, a spindle shaft,a gear fixed thereon and operatively connected to the motor shaft gear,and rigid means mounted to float upon the motor shaft and carrying thespindle shaft to transmit to said motor shaft a lateral thrust inopposition to the lateral thrust on said shaft produced by powertransmitted through said motor shaft gear.

3. In a driving mechanism for the cutter cylinder of a planing machine,the combination of a motor shaft, a motor shaft gear mounted thereon, aspindle shaft having a gear fixed thereon and operatively engaged withthe motor shaft gear, a member loosely mounted on the motor shaft andprojecting to one side thereof, said member carrying the spindle shaftand its gear, and means for locking said member from rotative movementabout the axis of the motor shaft to cause said member to partlycounterbalance the lateral thrust on the motor shaft due to powertransmitted through said motor shaft gear.

4. In a motor driving mechanism for the cutter cylinders of planingmachines, the combination of the motor shaft having a gear to rotatetherewith, a spindle shaft carrying a gear meshing with said firstnamedgear, and means in addition to said spindle shaft and its gear fortransmitting part of the lateral thrust of the motor shaft gear back tothe motor shaft in a direction opposite to the lateral thrust on saidshaft due to its power transmission.

5. In a motor driving mechanism for the cutter cylinders of planingmachines, the combination of the motor shaft having a gear fast thereon,a spindle shaft having a gear meshing with the first-named gear, amember pivotally Floating on the motor shaft and carrying said spindleshaft and its gear, and means at a greater radial dis tance from themotor shaft than the spindle shaft to prevent rotative movement of saidmember about the motor shaft.

6. A motor gear drive, comprising a mo tor shaft, a spindle shaft,gearing connections between said shafts, a casing mounted upon the motorshaft and carrying said spindle shaft, a driven shaft, a clutch forconnecting the driven shaft and spindle shaft end to end, means engagingthe casing to cause the side thrust upon the motor shaft clue to itstransmission of power to be counteracted by a side thrust of the casingon said shaft in an opposite direction, and means for counterbalancingthe weight of said casing.

7. A motor gear drive for planers, comprising a motor shaft, having agear secured thereto, a casing loosely mounted on said motor shaft, andhaving bearings disposed at one side of the motor shaft, a spindle shaftsupported by the said bearings and having a gear operatively connectedto the first-named gear, a projection extending from the casing, and astop engaging said projection at a point a greater distance from themotor shaft than the spindle shaft to cause the casing to exert a sidethrust upon the motor shaft in a direction opposite to the side thruston'said shaft due to power transmission through said gears.

8. A motor gear drive for planers, comprising a motor shaft having agear secured thereto, .a casing loosely mounted on said motor shaft andhaving bearings disposed at one side of the motor shaft, a spindle shaftsupported by the said bearings and having a gear operatively connectedto the firstnamed gear, means for counterbalancing the weight of saidcasing, a'projection extending from the casing, and a stop engaging saidprojection at a point a greater distance from the motor shaft than thespindle shaft to cause the casing to exert a side thrust upon the motorshaft in a direction opposite to the side thrust on said shaft due topower transmission through said gears.

9. In a motor gear drive of the character described, the combination ofa motor shaft, a spindle shaft at one side of the motor shaft, a drivenshaft, a clutch for connecting the driven shaft and spindle shaft end toend, a spindle shaft carrying member loosely mounted upon the motorshaft and having bearings in which the spindle shaft is mounted, gearingconnecting the motor shaft and spindle shaft, and means for adjustingand holding said spindle shaft carrying member in position about theaxis of the motor shaft to aline the driven shaft and I end to end, aspindle shaft carrying member loosely mounted upon the motor shaft andhaving hearings in which the spindle shaft is mounted, gearingconnecting the motor shaft and spindle shaft, means for adjusting andholding said spindle shaft carrying member in position about the axis ofthe motor shaft to aline the driven shaft and spindle shaft, andyielding means for counterbalancing the spindle shaft carrying member torelieve the motor shaft.

11. In a motor gear drive of the charac ter described, the combinationof a motor shaft, a spindle shaft, power transmission gearing betweensaid shafts, a casing 13 mounted to move around an axis coincident withthe axis of the motor shaft, said casing supporting the spindle shaft,and a looking device engaging the casing beyond the spindle shaft.

12. In a motor gear drive of the charac ter described, thecombination'ofa motor dle shaft, and means to support the weight of thecasing to relieve the motor shaft;

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM C. FARNUM.

Vitnesses:

HOWARD T. ELLIOTT, ARTHUR S. WASHBURN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner oi. Patents,

Washington, I). O. Y

